OUT-OF-STATEADMISSIONS INCREASE SHARPLY AT UC, UCSD

Nonresidents are charged much higher systemwide tuition

Percent increase of nonresident students accepted to UC schools over fall 2011

The University of California has admitted a record number of freshmen to its nine undergraduate campuses for fall of this year, with a particularly striking spike in the number of out-of-state students offered admission.

The system in general, and UC San Diego in particular, continued the trend of admitting more nonresidents — who are required to pay nearly three times as much in systemwide tuition and fees as the approximately $12,000 annual tab for in-state undergraduate students.

UC accepted 18,846 nonresident students for fall of this year, a 43 percent increase from fall 2011, according to figures released Tuesday. UC San Diego accepted 7,425 nonresidents, up 75 percent from fall 2011.

“We have the capacity to educate many more students at our campuses,” said Kate Jeffrey, UC’s interim director of undergraduate admissions. “What we don’t have is the funding to admit more California students. Nonetheless, we continue to honor the California Master Plan, finding space at one of our campuses for all students who qualify for guaranteed admission.”

The system’s Board of Regents has formally endorsed increasing the number of out-of-state students enrolled, primarily to capture that extra tuition, up to a maximum of 10 percent of the undergraduate population.

For 2011-12, 7 percent of all undergraduates are nonresidents. Such students make up 12.3 percent of UC’s current freshman class, officials said.

The fall 2012 class is expected to have a higher number of nonresidents, they said, but the overall 10 percent cap will not be met this year.

UC officials note that even when the cap is reached, nonresident enrollment will be well below the 30 percent levels at some prominent public universities, including the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia.

Officials have said the extra revenue gained from nonresident students benefits all sectors of the UC, which has suffered severe cuts.

While they insist that no qualified California student is denied a spot in the system because of the increase in out-of-state students, Jeffrey acknowledged some dislocation.

“They are being squeezed out of some individual campuses, maybe their first choice,” she said in a conference call Tuesday with reporters.

Alyssa Wing, president of the Associated Students at UC San Diego, said that while she understands that the higher tuition paid by nonresident students is beneficial, she still finds the trend unsettling.

“Strictly from the standpoint of a California resident, it is alarming,” said Wing, who is from Orange County. “It is a dangerous direction that I think is only going to be more serious given our financial condition … I don’t necessarily buy that it’s a separate track that doesn’t affect California students.”

Gov. Jerry Brown said he was disturbed by the trend and used it as an opportunity to promote a November ballot proposition asking voters to approve tax increases, according to The Associated Press.

“I don’t like it at all,” Brown told reporters Tuesday in Sacramento. “This is ugly, and we’d better do everything we can to slow it down and even reverse it.”

Overall, the UC accepted 80,289 freshman applicants to at least one of its campuses — many students apply to more than one UC — up 11 percent from fall 2011. UC San Diego saw a 26 percent boost in freshman admissions.

Christine Clark, a UC San Diego spokeswoman, said the university offered more admissions for the coming school year to offset a drop in acceptances last year.

“Fewer students last year accepted their offer to attend than we had projected,” she said. “So this year, we increased the number of offers to students.”

Overall undergraduate enrollment of in-state students at UC San Diego is not expected to change much from the current total of 28,200, Clark said. Likewise, the systemwide total of in-state students at UC, which is operating with $750 million less in state support this academic year than in 2010-11, will not increase.

To deal with state funding cuts, UC has dramatically raised in-state systemwide tuition and fees from $6,141 in the fall of 2006 to $12,192 for the current academic year.

Systemwide, the university showed an uptick in admissions of students from traditionally underrepresented groups.

With the exception of Chicanos/Latinos, UC San Diego followed the trend.

The school accepted 510 African-American freshmen, up 29 percent from last year; 852 Filipinos, up 35 percent; and 119 Native Americans, up 49 percent from last year.

The number of Chicano/Latinos admitted declined to 2,892, a 5 percent decrease.